Golden Pepper Jelly (NCHFP, Canned)

A golden-yellow hot pepper jelly of yellow bell peppers and serranos cooked into a vinegar juice, set with liquid pectin and canned in half-pints. A tested UGA process.

Untested: not yet made in this kitchen. It is here for the Peppers and Hot Sauce pages and is adapted from the source named in the Notes.

Ingredients

• 5 cups chopped yellow bell peppers (about 4 large fleshy peppers as purchased)
• ½ cup chopped Serrano chile peppers (about 5 peppers as purchased)
• 1½ cups white distilled vinegar (5%)
• 5 cups sugar
• 1 pouch (3 ounces) liquid pectin

Directions

1. Pre-sterilize half-pint jars and keep them hot; prepare the lids.
2. To make the pepper juice, remove the stems and seeds from the peppers. Do not remove the membrane from the hot peppers, since the remaining capsaicin for pepper heat is located there.
3. Purée the peppers in a blender with enough of the vinegar to purée them. Combine the purée with the remaining vinegar in an 8- to 10-quart pan, bring it to a boil and boil 10 minutes.
4. Strain the mixture through a jelly bag (preferred) or several layers of cheesecloth to collect the juice.
5. To make the jelly, measure 2¼ cups of the juice into the pan, stir in the sugar and return it to a boil. Add the pectin, return to a full rolling boil and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Skim off any foam.
6. Fill the hot jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace, and apply two-piece lids. Process half-pints in a boiling-water canner, hot pack, in pre-sterilized jars: 5 minutes at 0–1,000 feet, 10 minutes at 1,001–6,000 feet, 15 minutes above 6,000 feet.
7. Let the jars cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours and check the seals.

Notes

Source Adapted from the National Center for Home Food Preservation, “Golden Pepper Jelly” (University of Georgia, Elizabeth L. Andress, released May 2018). It makes about 5 half-pints, with a “mildly firm set”; half-pints are best.

A tested process This is a tested process; follow it exactly. Do not change the proportions of vinegar, peppers, vegetables or water, and use only vinegar of 5% acidity. NCHFP: “The addition of vinegar to the low-acid sweet and hot peppers makes this recipe safe for boiling water canning. Do not reduce the amount of vinegar.” Other sweet or hot peppers may be substituted.

Processing times by altitude (hot pack, half-pints, pre-sterilized jars) 0 to 1,000 feet: 5 minutes 1,001 to 6,000 feet: 10 minutes Above 6,000 feet: 15 minutes

Processing times by altitude (the optional alternative: half-pints in jars kept hot but not pre-sterilized, which may give a stronger vacuum) 0 to 1,000 feet: 10 minutes 1,001 to 6,000 feet: 15 minutes Above 6,000 feet: 20 minutes

Handling hot peppers NCHFP: “Wear rubber gloves when handling hot peppers or wash hands thoroughly with soap and water before touching your face.”

Storage Shelf-stable once processed and sealed; refrigerate after opening.

The dish The Peppers and Hot Sauce section (/hot-sauce/) covers pepper jelly and the tested processes for canning sweet pepper products.

The photo The photograph is a stand-in: jars of red pepper jelly, not the golden version.